


I Love You

by KerryBear



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Guardians of the Galaxy - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Awkwardness, Comfort, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-30
Updated: 2015-01-29
Packaged: 2018-03-09 13:42:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3251927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KerryBear/pseuds/KerryBear
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rocket and Peter are oblivious and lack empathy for each other. At least it's mutual.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Love You

"So-- Uh-- The mission went, uh, well. Right?" a very tired, somewhat distracted-sounding Terran spoke. 

Rocket flattened his ears nervously, trying to sound confident in his words.

"'Course it went well. I-It was just like any other mission, anyway..." he trailed off at the end, his voice softening. 

Peter coughed quietly.

"Y-Yeah." 

It had been a long time since they started working with each other on actual jobs. Jobs that entail common bounty hunting and mercenary work, and generally a little less intense "guarding the galaxy from insane radicals." They were pretty comfortable with each other at this point, but for some reason, between Peter and Rocket in particular, there seemed to be an air of tension. They worked well together on missions, as far as getting the job done, but social situations always had a little something extra to them. Like they weren't quite sure how to deal with the other. 

Rocket was especially confused about their interactions. He, unsurprisingly, was usually a little more than rude to everyone, including his crewmates. But when he tried to be himself around Peter, he found himself stumbling over words, or having to restart sentences, feeling red in the face under his fur, and worrying far more about what everyone thought of him; this especially applied to Peter. Sometimes, he even felt a little guilty about being so mean to him. He would fight the urge to apologize, or look away, or get embarrassed, but the tension between them always got the best of him. And the worst thing, to him, was the reason he felt this way. He didn't even fully understand it himself, but he had an idea.

_What the fuck, he's so cute,_ he thought to himself, ignoring everything as he zoned out in frustration on Peter's form as they settled down on the ship after the mission.

Peter's situation wasn't a whole lot better. He wasn't sure what the issue was; he never really had any issues getting along with people, even if he didn't like them. He was probably one of the most amicable people in the entire galaxy. But around Rocket, his voice got so much quieter, and his wit sank like a rock. He hadn't really experienced it before. Not with the women he had one-night-stands with, not with any Ravagers, not even with Gamora or Drax. He didn't really mind though. Sure, it was confusing for him, but he was just happy that Rocket was so cool. Even when his voice was smaller and shyer than usual, he was content to just observe Rocket, with an obviously distracted smile.

_...I'd totally cuddle him if he wouldn't shoot me for it~_ he thought, twirling one of his blond hairs, losing focus on all but his raccoon-like partner. 

The two of them settled down on separate couches in the main living quarters. They didn't say much after the most basic, casual discussion of the mission's events. 

"Hey, Peter! Come into the kitchen, I have to discuss something with you," the most authoritative voice of the ship called. They both recognized it as Gamora.

Peter jumped slightly, refocusing on the world around him.

"Y-Yeah, sure, coming!" he called back, getting up and entering the kitchen, as requested.

She was leaning against the counter, with a puzzled look on her face. She almost looked a little annoyed. Scratch that. She looked super annoyed.

"What are you  _doing_ out there? Why is it so tense?" She pushed, uncertain of the interaction going on.

"I, uh-- I-I dunno! It's not any more tense than usual. I mean-- It's only like this when we're alone."

"Why though?"

"I, uhm... I-I dunno," he said, giggling a little under his breath.

"Is it funny?" Gamora asked, genuinely curious.

"Well, no-- I-I guess not. Look, it's just that-- I dunno-- He's really, uhm-- Cute? Yeah," Peter stammered out, having to pause several times to think about what he was saying, and then being sure to say it quietly enough so as to not be heard by Rocket.

Gamora tilted her head slyly before a coy grin formed on her face.

"You  _like_ him?"

Peter groaned. He had a feeling she might react like this. Despite being somewhat emotionally closed off from other people, she loved to get involved in everyone on the ship's personal lives. Peter got the feeling that she just liked having dirt on them all, which he couldn't really blame her for. He knew the feeling.

"Yeah, Gamora. I 'like' him. I mean, it's not that weird, is it? He's cute, and he's sweeeet~" he said, with a significant amount of gushy sing-songiness to his voice. He seemed pretty unabashed. 

 "Well, why have you not told him?" She pressed, glaring slightly. 

Peter's jaw dropped slightly, almost certainly just for dramatic effect on his part.

"You can't just tell people stuff like that! This stuff requires finesse, Gam. You gotta be real careful, bro. It's a delicate thing, especially with someone like Rocket," he stressed, looking shocked that she could have even asked that.

She sighed loudly at Quill, realizing she wouldn't be able to do anything for these two. They would have to work it out on their own. 

"Okay, well-- Good luck with that, Peter," she paused for a moment to smirk at him, "and, uh, let me know if your situation changes. I want to stay informed."

Peter smiled back at her.

"Fine, whatever, I doubt it'll go anywhere anyway," he said, not sadly, but factually. She left in the direction of her personal quarters, and Peter headed back out to sit in the main quarters.

Rocket was sitting on the couch, messing around on his tablet at this point. As soon as Peter walked in though, his ears flattened nervously. Peter noted it, trying to hide his content smile as he entered.

"H-Hey," Peter said, as he sat down on the other side of the same couch.

Rocket's tail twitched excitedly, but he avoided looking up from his tablet.

"Uh, yeah? Oh, uhm-- Hey," he replied.

"I, uh-- I like your tail--?" a soft, quiet mumble escaped Peter's mouth.

"What?" Rocket said, quickly, thankful for the fur on his face covering his blush.

"N-Nevermind, sorry."

"Okay. Uhm-- I-I'll be right back."

_Holy shit, what is his fucking problem?_ Rocket though to himself. He hurried towards Groot's room, knocking on the door urgently.

"Groot!" 

A muffled "I am Groot" could be heard on the other side of the door just before it opened. Rocket hurried in without much of an invitation.

"Dude, Quill's actin' super weird and I don't know what to do," he said, taking Groot somewhat off-guard. It wasn't often Rocket was willing to talk about personal issues like this, even with him.

"I am Groot." Groot looked concerned, peering at Rocket questionably.

Rocket flattened his ears for a moment, thinking.

"Well, no-- I mean, I dunno. I don't really know what's going on," Rocket lied.

There was a moment of silence where both of them know he was lying.

"Ugh, okay, fine. This is real fuckin' hard to admit, buuut-- He's kind of cool--?"

"I am Groo--"

"No, no, I mean-- Like-- I kind of like him. I dunno if you know what I mean... But, okay-- When we hang out together, I never know what the fuck to say. I mean, we work well together on missions, but-- I-I feel like we both gotta say somethin' to each other, or else it's just gonna be tense, but I dunno what to say. I-I don't think he likes me the same way I like him though..."

Groot had a sad air about him as he looked compassionately at him.

"I mean, how fucking ridiculous would it be if he liked me like this too? I-It'd be nice, but... That'd be ridiculous. Not to mention how opposed probably everyone else on the ship would be, they would think it's just fucking weird and it'd make Peter look so bad, datin' somethin' like me, and even if they accepted it, it's not like it would matter, 'cause then everyone else in the galaxy would give him shit for it, a-and, just-- I-It'd never work out, we could never be happy, and it just doesn't fuckin' matter...!" he continued, his tail twitching irritably, getting more and more worked up as he talked. He could feel himself burning with a mix of anxiety and bottled-up emotions.

"I am Groot..." Groot tried to comfort. They both knew he wasn't the best person for that kind of stuff, but he knew it helped Rocket just to listen.

Rocket grabbed his tail, stroking it nervously, as much as he hated it. He only ever did this by himself or, rarely, with Groot. It calmed him down sometimes, even if his tail was, to him, just a sick sign of his animalistic form. 

"H-He said he liked my tail... D'you think he meant it? Or i-is he just messin' with me...?"

"I am Groot."

"Maybe. I dunno, maybe you're right, maybe he might like me, eventually, or, uh, now? Maybe. I don't think so..."

"Grooooot."

"...Yeah, maybe. I dunno. I gotta go though, I told him I'd be right back! Thanks for listenin', pal," Rocket looked genuinely grateful, which was a little rare for him to express.

"I am Groot!" Groot smiled slightly.

"Yeah, yeah, I doubt it'll go anyway, but I'll let ya know."

He hurried back out to Peter, who, at this point, had fallen asleep on the couch. 

He practically felt his heart skip a beat as his ears perked up excitedly.

_How the fuck is one stupid human so cute?_ He asked himself internally, taking out his tablet and sitting on the couch near Peter's. He noticed his gaze fixed on Peter, going back to focusing on reading the book he had loaded up. He shook his head in pure frustration.

_Ugh. It just wouldn't work..._

A loud snore was heard from Peter.

_Highly unrealistic. Wildly fanciful._

**Author's Note:**

> Mutual pining is probably one of the most obnoxious things I can think of. Like, ya really like someone, but you have no idea if they really like you, and-- Surprise, turns out they do! But how much time do you waste wondering if they do? Way too much. Emotions are fucking stupid sometimes, oh my God.
> 
> Sorry if it's a li'l spacey-feeling, I have to be awake for school in, like, two and a half hours, but I really wanna get this part done. I'm thinking of continuing this and having it be my first work with more than one chapter, I dunno. Jeez, talk about an unoriginal title though. But I just think it's cute, I dunno. Sorry it's so generic though~
> 
> Either way, thank you for reading! Please let me know what you think in the comments, or kudos it if you really like it. That kinda stuff means a lot to me, I guess. I dunno. Yup! Thank you~!


End file.
